BY THE SEASIDE— PLANT LIFE 



inert spores, which settle down in the water and 

 immediately grow into new plants. 



In the second method of increase, where male and 

 female organs are concerned, we find that both 

 these structures grow on the outside of the plant 

 and not in cavities. Let ue take the common, pink, 

 much branched seaweed, known by the fearsome 

 name of Callithamnion Corymhosum as our ex- 

 ample. The male organs grow in little fungus like 

 tufts about the branches of the plant and they give 

 off enormous numbers of little organisms which have 

 no power of swimming to the female organs. Either 

 on the same or on another plant we shall find the 

 female organs; we need not describe them in detail 

 but there is one point of very great interest. From 

 each of the female organs there grows a long jelly- 

 like hair. As we have remarked, the organisms set 

 free by the male organs cannot swim about but float 

 aimlessly in the water. Obviously the majority of 

 them simply perish, one perchance may touch a 

 sticky hair to which it adheres, with which it fuses 

 and passes down to the female cell, resulting in the 

 production of a new seaweed. 



It may be remembered that in writing about the 

 pollen grains of flowering plants, we mentioned that 

 those plants dependent upon wind for the distri- 

 bution of their pollen, have stigmas ingeniously 

 contrived for catching and retaining the grains. It 

 is curious that the red seaweeds should have very 

 jimilar contrivances for capturing and retaining the 

 nale cells, 



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